EV TING EDGES KAMAL SHALORUS IN MAIN EVENT OF ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS

10 February 2017 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has once again electrified the capacity crowd at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur with another exciting evening of world-class mixed martial arts. The absolute best in local and international mixed martial arts stars took the ONE Championship cage by storm, delighting fans in Malaysia with non-stop action. In the main event, Ev “E.T” Ting emerged victorious over Kamal “Prince of Persia” Shalorus to win by split decision in a high-octane catchweight encounter.


Visit the official ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS photo gallery by clicking: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ivh34n9pza3q94o/AADwuMwRg-gnDecd5AIBoQyTa?dl=0


In the main event of the evening, lightweight contenders Ev Ting of Malaysia and Kamal Shalorus of Iran put on an absolute show to delight fans in attendance. For three rounds, Ting flaunted his tremendous striking, hammering Shalorus with lashing strikes on numerous occasions. Shalorus tried his best to take Ting to the ground, where he had the upper hand. However, he was unable to do so. In the end, Ting continued his winning streak, doing just enough to earn a split decision victory over Shalorus, who was unable to overcome Ting’s sharpness.

After the bout, Ting took the chance to thank the fans at the jam-packed Stadium Negara and called for a title shot against reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang.

“Eduard Folayang, I am coming to your home to take your belt. See you on April 21st,” he said in his post-fight interview.

In the co-main event of the evening, Malaysia’s very own Agilan “Alligator” Thani authored one of the most spectacular finishes of ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS, submitting Jeff Huang of Chinese Taipei with an astonishing rear-naked choke. Thani put on a masterful performance, pacifying Huang’s striking advantage in the early proceedings as the hometown favorite utilized his impeccable ground game. The young Malaysian prospect executed a flawless transition into a rear-naked choke that left Huang no choice but to submit in the second round.

Malaysian female MMA superstar Ann “Athena” Osman captured a satisfying victory in front of a jubilant hometown crowd by routing Cambodia’s Vy Srey Khouch. After a long feeling-out process between the two fighters from a toe-to-toe stance, Osman shifted gears and took Srey Khouch to the ground, where her opponent was at a stylistic disadvantage. Securing a full mount, Osman rained down heavy shots. Srey Khouch tried her best to survive the onslaught, laying back mostly on the defensive. However, Osman was simply too much for her Cambodian foe, claiming the stoppage with two seconds left in the first round.

Russia’s Movlid “Killer” Khaibulaev accomplished a major victory in his maiden assignment as a ONE Championship athlete by marking the first defeat in the professional record of Brazilian featherweight standout Herbert “The Blaze” Burns. Khaibulaev showcased his pinpoint accurate striking early on, peppering Burns with stinging right hands and spinning back-kicks in the first two rounds of the featherweight showdown. Khaibulaev took matters on the mat in the third round, where he tagged Burns with telling blows and maneuvered his cage counterpart easily on the ground to get the unanimous nod from the three judges at cageside.

Previously-unbeaten Pakistani featherweight prospect Ahmed “The Wolverine” Mujtaba experienced the first loss of his career as he went to battle against Malaysian mixed martial artist Keanu Subba. Both fighters started out aggressively, but it was Subba who showed a more capable set of grappling skills, locking in a deep guillotine choke in the first round to the roar of his hometown crowd.

In a clash of high-caliber strawweights, Alex “Little Rock” Silva of Brazil extended his impressive winning streak to four bouts by mustering a scintillating submission conquest of Philippine boxing champion Roy Doliguez. Knowing the risk in the stand-up exchanges with Doliguez, Silva relied on his world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu pedigree as he spun a web of crafty grappling to dominate his Filipino foe. In the third round, Silva was finally able to fasten an armbar to force the tap.


Saiful “The Vampire” Merican of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia exhibited stellar form, proving himself a top bantamweight competitor with a stoppage victory over Filipino fighter Burn “Hitman” Soriano. Showcasing tremendous power with every strike and drawing cheers from the crowd after each landed blow, Merican’s thunderous kicks and punches proved too much for Soriano as the Filipino was unable to continue after the first round bell. Merican was awarded a technical knockout for his efforts.
Singaporean prospect Tiffany “Soul Crusher” Teo notched her second-straight victory inside the ONE Championship cage by defeating Wushu Sanda gold-medalist Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol of Indonesia via unanimous decision.
Muhammad Aiman of Malaysia kicked off a spectacular evening of world-class mixed martial arts action at ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS with a technical knockout victory over debuting Brazilian combatant Eduardo Novaes. Aiman finished the job with finesse in the first round, launching a perfectly-executed kick to the body before punctuating it with follow-up blows on the ground.

Official results for ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS
Catchweight bout (79.8KG): Ev Ting defeats Kamal Shalorus by Split Decision (SD) after 3 rounds
Welterweight bout: Agilan Thani defeats Jeff Huang by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:10 minutes of round 2
Catchweight bout (58.7kg): Ann Osman defeats Vy Srey Khouch by TKO (Strikes) at 4:58 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Movlid Khaibulaev defeats Herbert Burns by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Featherweight bout: Keanu Subba defeats Ahmed Mujtaba by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:56 minutes of round 1
Strawweight bout: Alex Silva  defeats Roy Doliguez by Submission (Armbar)  at 2:36 minutes of round 3
Bantamweight bout: Saiful Merican defeats Burn Soriano by TKO (Strikes) at 5:00 minutes of round 1
Strawweight bout: Tiffany Teo defeats Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Bantamweight bout: Muhammad Aiman defeats Eduardo Novaes by TKO (Strikes) at 2:50 minutes of round 2

In case you missed the action log on to www.onefc.com/livestream for the full replay of the fights at only US $9.99.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.

The Hardest Working Champ: Eduard Folayang is ready to defend his belt around his sporting commitments

The card that hasn’t been named yet is beginning to take shape with the announcement of lighweight champion Eduard Folayang’s first title defense on April 21. Ben Askren will also defend his welterweight belt here in Manila.

Related article: ONE chairman Chatri Sityodtong promises fireworks in organization’s return to Manila

On the night of November 11, 2016 Eduard Folayang ended Shinya Aoki’s ONE lightweight championship reign. Aoki, who won the belt following his victory over Kotetsu Boku in 2013, lost in his third title defense in Singapore against our very own Eduard Folayang.

Related article: Eduard Folayang Brings the Belt Back to the Land and Put Team Lakay’s ONE Title Drought in an End

MMA has been a real journey for Eduard Folayang like no other. From competing and doing enough to earn a shot at the title to taking the championship belt. This just goes to show that working hard and pursuing what you love helps you reach your goals. I said it before and always will that no one deserves it more than this guy. Without God and support from Team Lakay and fans, none of these are possible.

Eduard Folayang does look like he is enjoying being the champion. He is taking the love and respect pretty much from his countrymen. He is still center stage not only lifting his gold belt but recognitions for sports contribution. The champion stays busy also on motivational speaking and studio appearances for TV and radio shows. The Igorot warrior keeps on inspiring the Filipinos by his humbleness, being down to earth, approachable and his warm treatment to all despite being a ONE lightweight king.

We will see a better version of “Landslide”. He has been training non-stop and in great shape at the same time. The ONE Championship Fighter of the Year is ready to fight!

Let’s write another page of history,

Folayang commented.

Photos were posted by Eduard Folayang 
on his Facebook page

With a first title defense for Folayang but the challenger still to be officially announced, expect to be waiting some time until we hear the fight card. Until then, who do you think “The Landslide” should face?

Here are the two challengers who we heard could take on the The Igorot warrior for April 21:

Kamal Shalorus, who has been inactive in the past two years, is targeting a rematch against the Champion. A submission loss to Shinya Aoki in 2014 was his last fight.

Shalorus and Folayang first fought in 2013. Shalorus earned a unanimous decision victory in that battle and Folayang rebounded by winning five of his last six fights- including the one over Shinya Aoki in November- to capture the lightweight crown.

Related article: Kamal Shalorus believes a win over Ev Ting will secure a rematch with Eduard Folayang

It has been a grind for Ev Ting. The tremendous amount of hard work he put into gets him so close to have a shot at the title. “E.T.” has won three straight by complete domination. He is ready to put up one of his best performances on Feb 10 to cement the number ONE contender spot. Ev Ting and Jamal Shalorus to headline ONE: Throne of Tigers in Kuala Lumpur.

Related article: Ev “E.T.” Ting Puts On A Fight Of The Night Performance As He Steps Back Into The Cage In His Hometown

ONE lightweight champion Eduard Folayang is ready to continue dominating in his division and bringing a world title fight to Manila. Stay tuned for further updates regarding the event. What fights would you like to see added to the ONE Championship Manila card?

Kamal Shalorus believes a win over Ev Ting will secure a rematch with Eduard Folayang

Kamal “Prince of Persia” Shalorus and Eduard “Landslide” Folayang stood opposite each other inside the ONE Championship cage nearly four years ago when the Iranian combatant fought the Filipino mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar in his promotional debut.
Both men squared off against each other inside the jam-packed 20,000-capacity SM Mall of Asia Arena, serving as one of the featured attractions of ONE: RISE TO POWER in May 2013.
Shalorus utilized his wrestling background efficiently against Folayang to get the unanimous nod from the three judges at cageside.
Since their grueling three-round lightweight contest, Shalorus and Folayang have never seen eye-to-eye. Moreover, a lot of things have changed in their respective professional MMA careers.
Shalorus decided to have a time off as a prizefighter after yielding to Shinya Aoki for the ONE Lightweight World Championship belt via first-round submission in August 2014.

Meanwhile, Folayang won five of his last six ONE Championship outings since his defeat to Shalorus, including a shocking third-round stoppage victory over Aoki last November to capture the gold-plated strap.
With Folayang having ONE Championship’s top prize at lightweight, Shalorus seeks to cross paths with the famous Team Lakay representative again.
“A lot of things have changed. The division had a major facelift. There are more talented fighters in the division right now. Aside from all of that, lightweight has a new champion,” he stated.
“Eduard and I had a history. We fought before in ONE Championship. I hope we can meet again, but this time it’s for the title,” Shalorus added.
Shalorus admitted that he is fully aware of Folayang’s recent career resurgence as the 33-year-old Baguio City native managed to reinvent himself by transitioning from a pure striker to an all-around MMA fighter.

As seen in his last three bouts in ONE Championship, Folayang displayed on-point sprawls and his ability to sinuously execute sweeps and guards, as well as his sturdy top control on the mat.
“Eduard has improved greatly. He has now a good takedown defense and has exhibited good control on the mat. He is more of a complete fighter,” Shalorus said of Folayang.
The 39-year-old Iranian veteran believes that a win in his upcoming will be the first step in securing a rematch with Folayang.
After almost three years sitting on the sidelines, Shalorus returns to the ONE Championship cage to face Malaysian-Kiwi standout Ev Ting in the main event of ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS, which takes place at the 12,000-capacity Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 10 February.
“I believe this fight against Ev Ting will help me to get there. I still dream of becoming a world champion in MMA. Eduard is the one holding the title. It’s a must-win for me if I want to vie for the world championship again,” he stressed.

Shalorus sees a much tougher encounter with Folayang if he will get the chance to have a rematch with the reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion. However, he is confident that he will have his hand raised against his Filipino rival once more.
“I believe it will be more difficult because he has showed improvement. Eduard has now a good ground game and more intelligent. But I know I can still win against him,” he ended.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.
 
About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.

Ev "E.T." Ting Puts On A Fight Of The Night Performance As He Steps Back Into The Cage In His Hometown

Five days ago, the ONE middleweight world champion Vitaly Bigdash retained his belt in Jakarta, Indonesia. But the asia’s largest mixed martial arts promotion is coming back too soon. ONE Championship is already set and they return to Kuala Lumpur at Stadium Negara on February 10, 2017.

The ONE Championship 52: Throne of Tigers will headline a lightweight bout between hometown MMA superstar Ev Ting and former title challenger Kamal Shalorus of Iran.

Ev Ting won his lightweight debut on September 2016 at ONE Championship 47: Unbreakable Warriors also in front of his hometown crowd at Stadium Negara, Kula Lumpur. He scored a decision victory against Rob Lisita.

“E.T.” has fought every contenders in the featherweight including the current champion of the division Marat Gafurov. Four Filipinos were beaten by him, one of which is former champion of the same from Team Lakay Honorio Banario. This guy has a 12-3 career mixed martial arts record. Eight of his 12 wins have been finishes. Four submissions and four knockouts.

The Malaysian-Kiwi sensation gave his Pinoy fans quite a surprise when he come visit the Philippines as ONE: Age of Domination’s guest fighter last December. What a cool guy.

Ev “E.T.” Ting heads into his second fight in the ONE Championship’s lightweight division next month, but while it is his second, Ting should look at this one as more of a challenge than his last fight as his opponent who has been inactive in the past two years comes in absolutely hungry for a win.

What is the surging former featherweight going to have to bring it all for the win in front of his hometown crowd against the veteran grappler Shalorus? Watch to find out on February 10.

Also in action are Pinoy pride Burn Soriano and Roy Doliguez, Saiful American, Alex Silva, Agilan Thani, Jeff Huang, Ann Osman, Vy Srey Khouch, Herbert Burns, Movlid Khaibulaev, Keanu Subba, Ahmed Mujtaba, Tiffany Teo, Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol, Muhammad Aiman and Eduardo Novaes.

The official ONE: Throne of Tigers card

Friday is the night! Make your plans now to watch the fight!